LTE Radio Access Network

PROTOCOLS & PROCEDURES

LTE Radio Access Network
Net work Protocols and Procedures
LZU 1088773
Overview text:
Hi!
The LTE Protocols and Procedures eLearning course gives a detailed description of the LTE
RAN signaling. It covers the X2 and S1 interfaces and corresponding protocols X2AP and
S1AP as well as the protocols used over these interfaces: RRC, PDCP, RLC, MAC and the
physical layer for the radio interface.

Objectives
› Explain the RRC Protocol
› Explain the PDCP Protocol
› Explain the RLC and MAC Protocols
› Explain the X2/S1 Interface and the X2AP/S1AP Protocol
› Describe attach procedure and UE states and the difference between connected and idle mode
› Describe call setup
› Describe mobility over X2 and S1 Interfaces
› Describe IRAT Handover 
LTE Radio Access Network
Net work Protocols and Procedures
LZU 1088773
Overview text:
Hi!
The LTE Protocols and Procedures eLearning course gives a detailed description of the LTE
RAN signaling. It covers the X2 and S1 interfaces and corresponding protocols X2AP and
S1AP as well as the protocols used over these interfaces: RRC, PDCP, RLC, MAC and the
physical layer for the radio interface.

Objectives
› Explain the RRC Protocol
› Explain the PDCP Protocol
› Explain the RLC and MAC Protocols
› Explain the X2/S1 Interface and the X2AP/S1AP Protocol
› Describe attach procedure and UE states and the difference between connected and idle mode
› Describe call setup
› Describe mobility over X2 and S1 Interfaces
› Describe IRAT Handover 
Why learn about
› Understand the protocols
and procedures involved
within the Evolved Packet
System (EPS).

› Understand how signaling

is performed between the
UE, eNodeB, MME,
Serving-Gateway
Serving-Gatewa y and
Packet Data Network
Gateway.
Introduction to LTE Protocols
& procedures
Module Scope and Objectives

Scope

› Evolved Packet System Architecture

› Control and user plane protocols
› General Protocol model and Protocol interactions

Objectives

› Describe the Evolved Packet System Architecture.

› List the Control and user plane protocols
› Explain the General Protocol model and Protocol
interactions
› Describe the various traffic cases in EPS
3GPP LTE and SAE Work Items
Result
Specification Group Work Item

TSG RAN LTE

EUTRAN Specifications
(36 series)
LTE: Long Term Evolution
EUTRAN: Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network 

Result
Specification Group Work Item

TSG SA SAE
EPC Specifications
(From Rel 8 onwards)
SAE: System Architecture Evolution
EPC: Evolved Packet Core
Evolved Packet System Architecture
HSS
S6a SAE
EPC MME MME (System Architecture
(Evolved P/S-GW P/S-GW
Evolution)
Packet Core)

EPS S1

(Evolved Packet System)

E-UTRAN
X2
LTE
eNB eNB (Long Term Evolution)
X2
X2

eNB

Uu
UE
EPS Protocol Categories
L3 Signalling
• Non Access Stratum (NAS)
Communication between UE and MME
• Radio Resource Control (RRC)
Communication between UE and eNodeB
• S1 Application Protocol (S1AP)
Communication between eNodeB and MME
• X2 Application Protocol (X2AP)
Communication between eNodeB and eNodeB
• GPRS Tunneling Protocol Control (GTP-C)
- Communication between MME and SGW
- Communication between SGW and PGW
- Communication between MME and MME
L2 Transport
• Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP)
- Ciphering and integrity protection for RRC messages
- IP header compression/decompression for user plane
• Radio Link Control (RLC)
- Transfer of RRC messages and user data using:
* Acknowledged Mode (AM)
* Transparent Mode (TM) or 
* Unacknowledged Mode (UM)
- Error Correction (ARQ)
• Medium Access Control (MAC)
- Error Correction (HARQ)
- Transfer of RRC messages and user data using:
- Priority handling (scheduling)
- Transport Format selection
• GPRS Tunneling Protocol User (GTP-U)
Transfers data between GPRS tunneling endpoints
General Protocol Model
› For each layer the payload is called SDU (Service Data Unit)
› For each layer SDU+Protocol Header is called PDU (Packet Data Unit)
› Layer n PDU = Layer n+1 SDU
› E.g. A PDCP PDU = RLC SDU and RLC PDU = RLC Header+RLC SDU

Header  Payload Layer n

Layer n SDU

Layer n PDU

Layer 
Header  Payload n+1

Layer n+1 SDU

Layer n+1 PDU

EPS Bearer service and NAS
Signalling Connection
MME S/P-GW
RBS
UE

EPS Bearer Service (S1-UP)

Data Radio
Bearer 

Traffic
Radio Channel Transport Bearer (GTP)
Link
RRC Signalling
Channel S1 Signalling Bearer 

Signalling
Radio Bearer 
NAS Signalling Connection
UE Protocol Stack
Session Mobility NAS
Management Management Security
NAS
Application

System Info Cell Paging Connected

Aquisition Selection Reception Mode
Mobility IP
RRC RB Measurement
RRC AS Security
Connection Managementv Reporting

  s Integrity/ Header 

   P Ciphering
   A Compression
   S PDCP
   t
  r
  o
  p
  e
   R
   /
   l TM AM
  o
  r UM
   t
  n RLC
  o
   C

HARQ
HARQ
RA
RAControl
Control
MAC Control
Control
L2

Physical Layer 
 IP packet IP packet

Protocol User #i User # j 

Interaction PDCP
EPS bearers
PDCP
#i  Header Compr. Header Compr.

Ciphering Deciphering

E-UTRAN Radio
MAC Bearers
RLC RLC
#i 
Payload selection
Segmentation, ARQ Concatenation, ARQ

Logical Channels
Priority handling,
 payload selection MAC
MAC multiplexing MAC demultiplexing
Retransmission
control 
HybridARQ
Hybrid ARQ HybridARQ
Hybrid ARQ
  y
  c
  n
  a
   d   n
Transport   n   o
  u   i
   d   s
  e   r
PHY Channels PHY   e
   R  v
Coding + RM Coding + RM
Coding Decoding
  r
  e
   l Modulation
  u
   d scheme Data modulation Data modulation
  e Modulation Demodulation
   h
  c  Antenna and 
  s
resource
   C Antenna and Antenna and
   A assignment  Antenna and Antenna and
   M resrouce mapping resrouce mapping
resource mapping resource demapping

Physical Channels

eNodeB UE
UE – MME Control Plane

NAS NAS
Relay
RRC S1-AP
RRC S1- AP
PDCP PDCP SCTP SCTP

RLC RLC IP IP

MAC MAC L2 L2

L1 L1 L1 L1

UE eNodeB MME
Uu
S1-MME
UE – Packet Data NW
Gateway User Plane

 Application

IP IP

Relay Relay
PDCP GTP-U
PDCP GTP-U GTP-U GTP-U

RLC RLC UDP/IP UDP/IP UDP/IP UDP/IP

MAC MAC L2 L2 L2 L2

L1 L1 L1 L1 L1 L1

Uu S1-U S5/S8 SGi

UE eNodeB Serving GW PDN GW

Summary
Summary

 Application
The control signaling between the UE NAS
and the Evolved Packet Core is done RRC IP
with NAS protocol.
PDCP PDCP

RLC RLC

MAC MAC
The control signaling between the UE
L1 L1
and the E-UTRAN (eNodeB) is done
with the RRC protocol. UE control plane UE user plane
protocols
protocols

LTE
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Radio Resource Control
protocol - RRC
Introduction
Scope and Objectives
Scope
› RRC States and mobility
› RRC Procedures and Messages
› System Information
› Idle Mode behavior 
› Paging initiated by the Core Network and how it is forwarded to the UE.
› Signaling Radio Bearers and RRC Connection establishment

Objectives
› Explain the RRC idle and connected states and elaborate on
mobility in each case;
› Mention the RRC Procedures and Messages
› Describe how System Information is transmitted
› Explain how the UE performs cell selection and reselection in
idle mode.
› Describe the paging procedure and the RRC connection
establishment procedure
 RRC Procedures
› System information
› Cell Selection / Reselection
› Connection control
– RRC connection establishment
– Security activation
– RRC connection re-establishment
– RRC connection reconfiguration
– Paging
– RRC connection release
– Radio link failure related actions
› Measurement Control
– Measurement configuration
– Measurement reporting
Mobility Management
Inter/Intra E-UTRAN mobility
Mobility from E-UTRAN
Handover to E-UTRAN
Other procedures
Transparent transfer of NAS messages
(DL/UL Direct Transfer)
UE capability transfer 
Protocol error handling

System Info Cell Paging Connected Mode

 Aquisition Selection Reception Mobility
RRC RRC RB Measurement
 AS Security
Connection Managementv Reporting
RRC Messages

› CounterCheck  › RRCConnectionRelease
› CounterCheckResponse › RRCConnectionRequest 
› CSFBParametersRequest 
› RRCConnectionSetup
› CSFBParametersResponse
› DLInformationTransfer  › RRCConnectionSetupComplete
› HandoverFromEUTRAPreparationRequest  › SecurityModeCommand 
› MasterInformationBlock  › SecurityModeComplete
› MeasurementReport  › SecurityModeFailure
› MobilityFromEUTRACommand 
› SystemInformation
› Paging 
› RRCConnectionReconfiguration
› SystemInformationBlockType1
› RRCConnectionReconfigurationComplete › UECapabilityEnquiry 
› RRCConnectionReestablishment  › UECapabilityInformation
› RRCConnectionReestablishmentComplete › ULHandoverPreparationTransfer 
› RRCConnectionReestablishmentReject 
› ULInformationTransfer 
RRC States
RRC States

Tracking Area Update Tracking Area Update

Connection Re-activation

RRC-IDLE RRC- CONNECTED

(EMM- REGISTERED) (EMM-REGISTERED)

MME-initiated
Connection Release
Protocol States and Mobility
System Information
 Example of mapping to channels
MIB SIB1 SIB2 SIB3 SIB4 SIB5

SI SI

BCCH BCCH BCCH

BCH DL-SCH DL-SCH

TTI= 40 TTI=80 TTI= 160 TTI= 320

PBCH PDSCH PDSCH

 System Information carried in System
Information Blocks
System Information Blocks
System Parameters SIB SIB SIB SIB SIB SIB SIB SIB SIB SIB SIB
Related to MIB 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Cell Selection Info x

PLMN-id x

Tracking Area Code x

Cell Id x

Cell Barred x

Frequency Band Indicator  x

SIB Scheduling x

UL EARFCN x

UL Bandwith x

DL Bandwith x

Common Radio Resource Conf  x

Paging Info x

Cell Reselection x

Neighbouring Cells -intra frequency x

Neighbouring Cells -inter frequency x

Inter RAT reselection (UTRAN) x

Inter RAT reselection (GRAN) x

Inter RAT reselection (CDMA2000) x

home eNodeB x

ETWS notification
Idle Mode
Idle Mode Tasks
Manual Mode  Automatic mode

PLMN Selection
Indication
to user  Location PLMNs
Registration available
response  AvailableCSG IDs
to NAS
Support for manual
CSG ID selection

PLMN
selected CSG ID
selected
NAS Control 
Cell Selection
and Reselection
Radio measurements
Registration
 Area
changes

Service requests
Location
Registration
RRC_IDLE Cell Selection –
Cell Reselection
go here whenever 
a new PLMN is selected
cell information no cell information
stored for the PLMN 1 stored for the PLMN

Stored Information Initial

Cell Selection no suitable cell found Cell Selection
no suitable
2
Cell found suitable cell found

Cell Selection when

leaving connected suitable cell found
mode Camped suitable cell found

Normally
return to Leave Idle Mode
Selected PLMN
Idle Mode Suitable is rejected
trigger 
Cell found go here
Connected
When no USIM
Mode  Any Cell in the UE
Cell Reselection no suitable
Evaluation Process Selection
Cell found
no acceptable cell found USIM inserted

Cell Selection when  Acceptable  Acceptable

leaving connected Camped on 1
Cell found Cell Found
mode
any cell Suitable
2
return to leave Cell found
 Acceptable
Idle Mode Idle Mode trigger 
Cell found
Connected Mode
(Emergency calls only) Cell Reselection no acceptable
Evaluation Process
Paging
CN Initiated Paging
LTE Paging - Initial Context Setup

The MME a paging message which is sent to

all eNodeBs in a tracking area(s)

MME

UEs use the Random

 Access procedure to S1AP:Paging
RRC PAGING
initiate access to the
serving cell
Random Access Procedure

NAS: Service Request

S1-AP:INITIAL UE MESSAGE(FFS)
+NAS:Service Request
eNB
+ UE signalling connection ID

NAS messaging
continues in order to
set up the call
 Paging and DRX cycle
› Paging channel (PCH) uses PDSCH transmission
› Paging indicated on PDCCH
– DRX cycle defined
– Special ‘paging MAC ID’ indicating paging group
– If ID matches  UE reads PDSCH to find which UE that is paged

PDCCH Possibility to page this terminal

UE receiver circuitry switched off  UE receiver circuitry switched off 

subframe

DRX cycle
SRBs and RRC
Connection
Signaling Radio Bearers (SRBs)

RRC
SRB0 SRB1 SRB2

PDCP

› Signaling Radio Bearers (SRBs) are offered by the

PDCP layer to the RRC layer for transport of RRC (and
NAS) messages

– SRB0: Used for RRC messages on the CCCH

– SRB1: Used for RRC and NAS messages on the DCCH
– SRB2 (optionally configured): Used for low-priority NAS messages
on DCCH
RRC Connection Establishment

Idle
› RRC Connection Request is initiated by the
Mode
higher layers in the UE
”RRC Connection Request” CCCH/ULSCH
–  A unique UE identity S-TMSI is used
in the request message
”RRC Connection Setup” CCCH/DLSCH
Connected › RRC Connection Setup
Mode
› RRC connection establishment procedure
”RRC Connection Setup Complete” DCCH/ULSCH creates the signaling radio bearer SRB1
Security Related Procedures

MME

INITIAL CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST

(Integrity Protection Algorithm EIA;
Ciphering Algorithm EEA;
Security Key)

2. Decide Algorithms,
Derive Keys
Activate Security for SRB

SECURITY MODE COMMAND (EEA;EIA)

SECURITY MODE COMPLETE

INITIAL CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE
Summary
summary

Master Information Block

System Information Block

”RRC Connection Request” CCCH/ULSCH

RRC IDLE › RRC Connection Request is initiated by the
higher layers in the UE

DLSCH ”RRC Connection Setup”

› RRC Connection Setup
(C-RNTI is allocated)

”RRC Connection Setup Complete” DCCH/ULSCH

› RRC connection establishment procedure
RRC creates the signaling radio bearer RB#1,
CONNECTED
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Packet Data Convergence
protocol - PDCP
Introduction
Scope and Objectives
Scope

› Sequence numbering
› Header compression
› Integrity protection
› Ciphering
› PDCP data and control PDU

Objectives
› Explain what happens when a PDU arrives
in the PDCP transmitting and receiving entity
› Explain what happens during Sequence numbering,
header compression, integrity protection, ciphering
and why we need them
› Describe the PDCP data and control PDU
Packet Data Convergence Protocol
PDCP Functions
• Header compression/decompression of IP data flows using ROHC
• Transfer of data
• Maintenence of sequence numbers for radio bearers
• In sequence delivery of upper layer PDUs at re-establishment of lower layers
• Duplicate detection of lower layer SDUs at re-establishment
• Ciphering/deciphering of data
• Integrity protection/verification of Control Plane
• Timer based discard
• Duplicate discarding
PDCP Services
• Transfer of user plane data
• Transfer of control plane data
• Header compression
• Integrity protection of control plane
• Ciphering both control and user plane
PDCP Entity and Functions
PDCP Entity
UE/E-UTRAN E-UTRAN/UE
Transmitting Receiving
PDCP entity PDCP entity

In order delivery and duplicate

Sequence numbering
Detection (U plane)

Header Compression Header Compression

(user plane only) (user plane only)

to P
Packets associated a to P
a c Packets associated a
P k a c
to a PDCP SDU e k
D ts P e
C to a PDCP SDU D ts
P N C
O P N
S O
T
Integrity Protection D
a
Integrity Verification S T
U D
s U a
s s
(control plane only) o
c
(control plane only) s
o
ia c
te ia
d te
Ciphering Deciphering d

 Add PDCP header  Remove PDCP Header 

Sequence Numbering
WHY: • Reordering
• Duplicate detection
• Integrity protection
• Ciphering
eNB

SRB1_UL COUNT SRB1_UL

SRB1_DL COUNT SRB1_DL

UE
UE Ctx
DRB_UL COUNT-C DRB_UL
DRB_DL COUNT-C DRB_DL

HOW:
PDCP SN:

HFN PDCP SN Next_PDCP_TX_SN

TX_HFN
COUNT
Header Compression
8
Save the bandwith by: V=4 Hlen TOS Packet length
STATIC
* Removing redundant info Identification
Protocol
Flags
Checksum
Fragment offset
INFERRED
IPv TTL
4
* Encoding important info Source address CHANGES
RARELY
Destination address
Source port CHANGES
* Hop by Hop UD
Destination port
OFTEN
P Length Checksum
Appr. 30 of 
* Unidirectional V P X CC M PT Sequence no
40 octets are
RT Timestamp static or 
P easily
SSRC Identifier 
compressible!

UE/UE Context

Header  PDCP PDU

Header  PDCP PDU RB_UL PDCP PDU RB_UL

CRC Compressed Header 

checksum covering the header before Contains encoded UE/UE Context
compression is included in the compressed data
header 
Integrity Protection
WHY: To ensure data origin

H P
e D
a C
d P
e
r P
D
U

P
PDCP PDU D PDCP PDU
PDCP PDU C PDCP PDU
PDCP SDU P PDCP SDU
Header  Header 
S
D
U
COUNT COUNT
Direction Direction
EIA MAC-I XMAC-I
EIA
K_ eNB_RRCInt K_ eNB_RRCInt
Bearer Id Bearer Id

MAC-I
= XMAC-I

Sending Side Receiving Side

UE/eNB UE/eNB
 Ciphering
EEA0
WHY: To protect the data over radio EEA1
EEA2

COUNT-C/ COUNT-C/
DIRECTION COUNT DIRECTION
COUNT
BEARER LENGTH BEARER LENGTH

KEYUPenc EEA KEYUPenc EEA

KEYSTREAM KEYSTREAM
BLOCK BLOCK

PLAINTEXT CIPHERTEXT PLAINTEXT

BLOCK BLOCK BLOCK

Sender Receiver  
PDCP PDU
PDCP Data PDU
The PDCP Data PDU is used to convey:

  A PDCP SDU SN
 User plane data containing uncompressed PDCP SDU
 User plane data containing compressed PDCP SDU
 Control plane data
 MAC-I field (for SRB only)
 PDCP Control PDU Format

D/C PDU Type R R R R Oct 1 D/C PDU Type FMS Oct 1

Interspersed ROHC feedback packet Oct 2 FMS (cont.) Oct 2

...
Bitmap 1 (optional) Oct 3

...

Bitmap N (optional ) Oct 2+N

PDCP Contorol: ROCH feedback PDCP Contorol: STATUS Report

D/C Data/Control
FMS First Missing PDCP SN
ROHC RObust Header  
Summary
Summary

Data transfer – Header 

addition of PDCP compression and
sequence decompression
number  with ROHC

Ciphering and Integrity

deciphering of  protection of 
user and control control plane
plane data data
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Radio Link Control Protocol-
RLC
Introduction
Scope and Objectives

Scope

› RLC transparent mode entity

› RLC unacknowledged mode entity
› RLC acknowledged mode entity
› RLC PDUs

Objectives

› Explain why we need three RLC modes

› Describe the RLC entities, their function
and the RLC PDUs in each mode
RLC Protocol Entity
RLC Services

Expected From Lower Layers:

Provided to Upper Layers:
• Data transfer 
• Transparent data transfer 
• Notification of a transmission
• Unacknowledged data transfer 
opportunity
•  Acknowledged data transfer 
• Notification of HARQ delivery failure
from transmitting MAC entity
RLC Functions

Segmentation and re-assembly • In-sequence delivery

• Concatenation • Duplicate detection
• Padding • Flow control
• Transfer of user data in TM, UM • RLC Re-establishment
and AM
• Protocol Error Detection
• Error correction (ARQ) and Recovery
RLC Entities & Modes
RLC Entities
RLC Transparent Mode Entity
UE/ENB ENB/UE
radio interface

TM-SAP TM-SAP

Transmitting Receiving
TM-RLC TM- RLC
entity entity
Transmission
buffer 

BCCH/PCCH/CCCH BCCH/PCCH/CCCH
RLC unacknowledged Mode Entity
UE/ENB ENB/UE
radio interface

UM-SAP UM-SAP

Transmission SDU reassembly

buffer 
Transmitting Receiving
UM-RLC UM-RLC
entity entity
Remove RLC
Segmentation &
Concatenation header 

Reception
 Add RLC header  buffer & HARQ
reordering

DTCH DTCH
RLC AM Entity
 AM -SAP

Transmission RLC control SDU reassembly

buffer 

Remove RLC header 

Segmentation & Retransmission
Concatenation buffer 

Reception
buffer & HARQ
reordering

 Add RLC header 

Routing

DCCH/DTCH DCCH/DTCH
RLC PDU
Protocol Data Units - PDU
› RLC Data PDU
– TM PDU, UM PDU, AM PDU and AMD PDU Segment

› RLC Control PDU

– STATUS PDU
RLC Transparent Mode PDU

› The RLC TM PDU introduces no overhead

› TM is used for signaling on BCCH and PCCH

RLC Unacknowledged Mode PDU
› Header: Fixed Part (FI, E, SN) + Extension Part (Es, LIs)
› UM RLC Entity configured by RRC to use either 5 bit SN or 10 bit SN

UMD PDU with 5 bit SN (No LI ) UMD PDU with 10 bit SN (No LI )
RLC Unacknowledged Mode PDU,
5 bits SN, cont

UMD PDU with 5 bit SN PDU with 5 bit SN

(Odd number of LIs, i.e. K = 1, 3, 5, …) (Even number of LIs, i.e. K = 2, 4, 6, …)
RLC Unacknowledged Mode PDU,
10 bits SN, cont

UMD PDU with 10 bit SN UMD PDU with 10 bit SN

(Odd number of LIs, i.e. K = 1, 3, 5, …) (Even number of LIs, i.e. K = 2, 4, 6, …)
RLC Acknowledged Mode PDU
›  AM RLC Entity uses10 bit SN
› Header: Fixed Part (D/C, RF, P, FI, E, SN)+ Extension Part (E(s), LI(s))

 AMD PDU with 10 bit SN (No LI )

RLC Acknowledged Mode PDU
Information Element: E bit
 Extension bit
Fixed header 

Value Description
0 Data field follows from the octet following the fixed part of the
header 
1 A set of E field and LI field follows from the octet following the
fixed part of the header 

Extension part of the header 

Value Description
0 Data field follows from the octet following the LI field following
this E field
1 A set of E field and LI field follows from the bit following the LI
field following this E field
Information Element:
Length Indicator, LI

Length Indicator (LI) field

The LI field indicates the length in bytes of the corresponding data field
element present in the RLC data PDU delivered/received by an UM or 
an AM RLC entity.

The value 0 is reserved.

Information Element:
Framing Information field, FI

Value Description
00 First byte of the Data field corresponds to the first byte of a RLC SDU.
Last byte of the Data field corresponds to the last byte of a RLC SDU.

01 First byte of the Data field corresponds to the first byte of a RLC SDU.
Last byte of the Data field does not correspond to the last byte of a RLC SDU.

10 First byte of the Data field does not correspond to the first byte of a RLC SDU.
Last byte of the Data field corresponds to the last byte of a RLC SDU.

11 First byte of the Data field does not correspond to the first byte of a RLC SDU.
Last byte of the Data field does not correspond to the last byte of a RLC SDU.
Information Element:
Segment Offset, SO

› The Segment Offset field indicates the position of the AMD

PDU segment in bytes within the original AMD PDU.

The first byte in the Data field of the original AMD PDU is
referred by the SO field value "000000000000000"
Information Element:
Last Segment Flag, LSF

 Last Segment Flag field

Value Description

0 Last byte of the AMD PDU segment does not correspond

to the last byte of an AMD PDU.
1 Last byte of the AMD PDU segment corresponds
to the last byte of an AMD PDU.
Information Element:
Resegmentation Flag, RF

Value Description
0 AMD PDU

1 AMD PDU segment

Information Element: Poll, P

 Polling bit field

Value Description

0 Status report not requested

1 Status report is requested

Information Element:
Control Pdu Type, CPT

› Control PDU Type bit field

Value Description
000 STATUS PDU

001-111 Reserved
(PDUs with this coding will be discarded
 by the receiving entity for this release of the protocol)
Summary
Summary

Data transfer in Concatenation,

 Acknowledged,
 Acknowledg ed, segmentation and
Unacknowledged reassembly of RLC
and Transparent SDUs (AM & UM)
mode
Examples
Error correction by
 ARQ (AM) • VoIP: UM
• TCP-based traffic: AM
TM is only used for SRBs when
no RLC UM or AM entity is set
up yet.
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Medium Access Control
Protocol - MAC
Introduction
Scope and Objectives

Scope
› Mapping of channels
› MAC PDU
› Random access procedure
› HARQ mechanism
› DL / UL Scheduling mechanism
› UL Time Alignment
› Connection Setup procedure

Objectives
› Explain how logical channels are mapped to transport channels
and physical channels
› Describe the MAC PDU format, the Random access procedure,
the HARQ mechanism, the DL and UL scheduling mechanism and UL time alignment
› Explain the connection setup procedure.
MAC Protocol Entity
› MAC Services
– Data Transfer 
– Reallocation of resources
› MAC Functions
– Mapping between logical- and
Upper layers
transport channels PCCH BCCH CCCH DCCH DTCH MAC-control

– Multiplexing of MAC SDUs

– Demultiplexing of MAC SDUs
Logical Channel Prioritization
( 
– Scheduling information
reporting (De-) Multiplexing Control

– Error Correction Random

HARQ
Access Control
– Priority handling between UEs
– Priority handling between
logical channels PCH BCH DL-SCH UL-SCH RACH

– Logical channel prioritization Lower layers

– Transport Format selection

Channels
Logical Channels
Control:
› Broadcast Control Channel (BCCH)
– DL broadcast of system control information.
› Paging Control Channel (PCCH)
– DL paging information. UE position not known on cell level
› Common Control Channel (CCCH)
– UL/DL. When no RRC connection exists.
› Dedicated Control Channel (DCCH)
– UL/DL dedicated control information. Used by UEs having an RRC
connection.

Traffic:
› Dedicated Traffic Channel (DTCH)
– UL/DL Dedicated Traffic to one UE, user information.
 Transport Channels
Downlink:
› Broadcast Channel (BCH)
– System Information broadcasted in the entire coverage area of the cell.
Beamforming is not applied.
› Downlink Shared Channel (DL-SCH)
– User data, control signaling and System Info. HARQ and link adaptation.
Broadcast in the entire cell or beamforming. DRX and MBMS supported.
› Paging Channel (PCH)
– Paging Info broadcasted in the entire cell.

Uplink:
› Uplink Shared channel (UL-SCH)
– User data and control signaling. HARQ and link adaptation. Beamforming
may be applied.
› Random Access Channel (RACH)
– Random Access transmissions (asynchronous and synchronous). The
transmission is typically contention based. For UEs having an RRC
connection there is some limited support for contention free access.
Physical Channels and Signals
Physical channels
› Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH)
– transmission of the DL-SCH transport channel
› Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH)
– transmission of the UL-SCH transport channel
› Physical Control Format Indicator Channel (PCFICH)
– indicates the PDCCH format in DL
› Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH)
– DL L1/L2 control signaling
› Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH)
– UL L1/L2 control signaling
› Physical Hybrid ARQ Indicator Channel (PHICH)
– DL HARQ info
› Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH)
– DL transmission of the BCH transport channel.
› Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH)
– UL transmission of the random access preamble as given by the RACH transport channel

Physical signals
› Reference Signals (RS)
– support measurements and coherent demodulation in uplink and downlink.
› Primary and Secondary Synchronization signals (P-SCH and S-SCH)
– DL only and used in the cell search procedure.
› Sounding Reference Signal (SRS)
– supports UL scheduling measurements
 Channel Mapping
Downlink Uplink

PCCH BCCH DTCH DCCH CCCH DTCH DCCH CCCH

Logical Channels
“type of information” 
MIB SIB (traffic/control)

PCH BCH DL-SCH UL-SCH RACH

Transport Channels
“how and with what 
characteristics” 
(common/shared/mc/bc)

-Sched TF DL
-Sched grant UL -CQI
PDCCH -Pwr Ctrl cmd -ACK/NACK
info -HARQ info  ACK/NACK -Sched req. Physical Channels
“bits, symbols,
PBCH PDSCH PCFICH PDCCH PHICH PUCCH PUSCH PRACH modulation, radio
frames etc” 
-meas for DL sched
-meas for mobility -half frame sync -frame sync -measurements for 
-coherent demod -cell id -cell id group -coherent demod UL scheduling
Physical Signals
“only L1 info” 
RS P-SCH S-SCH RS SRS
MAC PDU
MAC PDU
R/R/E/LCID/F/L R/R/E/LCID/F/L R/R/E/LCID/F/L R/R/E/LCID/F/L ... R/R/E/LCID/F/L R/R/E/LCID padding
sub-header  sub-header  sub-header  sub-header  sub-header  sub-header 

MAC header 
MAC Control MAC Control
element 1 element 2
MAC SDU ... MAC SDU
Padding
(opt)

MAC payload

LCID Logical Channel ID

E Extension Bit
R Reserved
F Length Flag
L Length
MAC Sub-header

R R E LCID Oct 1 R R E LCID Oct 1

F L Oct 2 F L Oct 2

L Oct 3

R/R/E/LCID/F/L sub-header with R/R/E/LCID/F/L sub-header with

7-bits L field 15-bits L field

R R E LCID Oct 1

R/R/E/LCID sub-header 
MAC Procedures
MAC Procedures
› Random Access
› Maintenance of Uplink Time Alignment
› DL-SCH data transfer 
› UL-SCH data transfer 
› PCH reception
› BCH reception
› Discontinuous Reception (DRX)
› MAC reconfiguration
› MAC Reset
› Semi-Persistent Scheduling
Random Access Procedure
› Purpose
– Initial access
– Establish UL synchronization
– Indicate presence of UL data
MAC procedure
› Two types
– CBRA – Contention Based
– CFRA – Contention Free

› Consists of four phases

1.Random Access Preamble
2.Random Access Response
3.RRC Connection Request RRC procedure
4.RRC Connection Setup
Data Transfer using HARQ

Demultiplexed into logical channels and

forwarded to RLC for reordering

TrBlk 1 TrBlk 2 TrBlk 0 TrBlk 5

Hybrid Receiver processing Receiver processing

 ARQ Receiver processing Receiver processing
Receiver processing Receiver processing
Receiver processing
Receiver processing
processes

NACK  ACK  ACK N ACK

 ACK
NACK  ACK NACK
4
CFN0 1 2 3 5 6 7 8 9
TrBlk 0
TrBlk 0 TrBlk 1 TrBlk 2 TrBlk 3 TrBlk 4 TrBlk 5 TrBlk 3 TrBlk 0 TrBlk 4

Number of HARQ processes tuned to

1 ms TTI Fixed timing relation match the RTT
• FDD 8 HARQ processes
• TDD depending on asymmetry
DL Scheduling Mechanism
› UE provides a Channel
Quality Report (CQI) based
on DL reference symbols

› Scheduler assigns
resources per RB based on DL scheduler 
QoS, CQI etc. D a 
R e  t a 
s o 
u r  c 
e 
› Resource allocation is a l  l  
o c 
C Q  a t i  
o n 
transmitted in connection I  r  e 
 p o 
with data R e 
f  e r  
r  t 
e n 
c e 
s  y 
m b 
o l  s 

UE
eNodeB
UL Scheduling Mechanism
› UE requests UL
transmission via ”scheduling
request” Measurements

C h 
a n 
› Scheduler assigns initial n e 
l  s 
o u 
resources without detailed UL scheduler  n d  
i  n g 
 , 
knowledge of buffer content D a  R S  
B u  t a 
f  f  e 
r  s 
t at 
  u 
› More detailed buffer status s r  
e  p 
R e  o r  t 
s o 
report may follow in u r  c 
S c  e a 
connection with data h e 
d  u 
s s 
i  g n 
l  i  n  m e 
g R  n t 
e q 
u e 
s t 

UE
eNodeB
Maintenance of Uplink Time
Alignment

› When the UE gets Timing

- Random Access Response
- Piggy Backed together with data
 +
 T A  -
  T A

UE 2

UE 1

R R Timing Advance Command Oct 1

Connection Setup
 Connection Setup
eNodeB MME

BCCH: System Information

RRC RRC

Random Cell Selection • Admission Ctrl

Access MAC
PRACH: RACH preamble
MAC • Allocation of SRB
RRC_CONNECTED MAC
DL-SCH: RACH response
MAC resources in BB

UL-SCH: RRC Connection Request 

(Initial UE identity, Cause)
RRC RRC
DL-SCH: RRC Connection Setup
RRC Connection (SRB1 parameters) MME selection
Establishment RRC RRC (based on S-TMSI)
UL-SCH: RRC Connection Setup Complete
(Selected PLMN id, NAS: Attach Request *)
RRC RRC Initial UE Message (eNB UE S1AP
id **,NAS:Attach Request,TAI)
S1-AP S1-AP
Initial Context Setup Request
(MME UE S1AP id ***, NAS: Attach Accept, Security,
Bearer params, e.g. TEID)
DL-SCH: Security Mode Command  S1-AP S1-AP
(Security Configuration)
RRC RRC
Initial Context UL-SCH: Security Mode Complete  Allocation of payload
RRC RRC
Setup DL-SCH: RRC Connection Reconfiguration bearer resources
(Intra-frequency measurement configuration,
Bearer Setup, NAS: Attach Accept)
RRC RRC
UL-SCH: RRC Conn Reconf Complete
RRC RRC Initial Context Setup Response
(Bearer params, e.g. TEID)
UL Inform Transfer (NAS: Attach S1-AP S1-AP
* The IMSI is provided in the Attach Request Complete)
RRC RRC Uplink NAS Transport
** eNB UE S1AP id is included in all UE-related DL (NAS: Attach Complete)
S1AP messages S1-AP S1-AP
Summary
 Summary
Random Access Procedure

Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ)

1 2 6

Receiver  Receiver processing Receiver processing

Receiver processing
Receiver processing Receiver processing
Receiver processing Receiver processing

Sender  NAK  ACK  ACK NAK NAK

0 1 2 4 5 6 8 9
Quiz
PROPERTIES
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Mobility in RRC Connected
State
Introduction
Scope and Objectives

Scope

› S1 Interface and S1- AP

› X2 Interface and X2- AP
› X2, S1 and IRAT Mobility
› CS Fallback

Objectives

› Understand the S1 and X2 Interfaces

and the related protocols
› Describe the X2, S1 and IRAT
Mobility
› Understand the CS Fallback concept.
S1 Interface and
S1 Application Protocol
S1 Interface
Functions of S1AP
› E-RAB Management
› Initial Context Transfer Function
› Mobility Function for UEs in LTE_ACTIVE
› Paging
› NAS signaling Transport between UE and MME
› Common ID management
› UE Capability Info Indication Function
› S1 Interface Management Functions
› S1 UE Context Release Function
› UE Context Modification Function
› Status Transfer 
› Trace Function
› Location Reporting
› S1 CDMA 2000 Tunneling Function
› Warning Message Transmission Function
S1AP Elementary Procedures, class 1

Elementary Initiating Message Successful Outcome Unsuccessful outcome

Procedure, class 1 Response Message Response Message

Handover Preparation HANDOVER REQUIRED HANDOVER COMMAND HANDOVER PREPARATION

FAILURE

Handover Resource Allocation HANDOVER REQUEST HANDOVER REQUEST HANDOVER FAILURE

 ACKNOWLEDGE

Path Switch Request PATH SWITCH REQUEST PATH SWITCH REQUEST PATH SWITCH REQUEST
 ACKNOWLEDGE FAILURE

Handover Cancellation HANDOVER CANCEL HANDOVER CANCEL

 ACKNOWLEDGE

E-RAB Setup E-RAB SETUP REQUEST E-RAB SETUP RESPONSE

E-RAB Modify E-RAB MODIFY REQUEST E-RAB MODIFY RESPONSE

E-RAB Release E-RAB RELEASE COMMAND E-RAB RELEASE RESPONSE

Initial Context Setup INITIAL CONTEXT SETUP INITIAL CONTEXT SETUP INITIAL CONTEXT SETUP
REQUEST RESPONSE FAILURE
S1AP Elementary Procedures, class 1

Elementary Initiating Message Successful Outcome Unsuccessful outcome

Procedure, class 1 Response Message Response Message

Reset RESET RESET ACKNOWLEDGE

S1 Setup S1 SETUP REQUEST S1 SETUP RESPONSE S1 SETUP FAILURE

UE Context Release UE CONTEXT RELEASE UE CONTEXT RELEASE

COMMAND COMPLETE

UE Context Modification UE CONTEXT UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION

MODIFICATION REQUEST RESPONSE FAILURE

eNB Configuration Update ENB CONFIGURATION ENB CONFIGURATION ENB CONFIGURATION

UPDATE UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE UPDATE FAILURE

MME Configuration Update MME CONFIGURATION MME CONFIGURATION MME CONFIGURATION

UPDATE UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE UPDATE FAILURE

Write-Replace Warning WRITE-REPLACE WARNING WRITE-REPLACE WARNING

REQUEST RESPONSE
S1AP Elementary Procedures, Class 2

Elementary procedure, class 2 Initiating Message

Handover Notification HANDOVER NOTIFY

E-RAB Release Indication E-RAB RELEASE INDICATION

Paging PAGING

Initial UE Message INITIAL UE MESSAGE

Downlink NAS Transport DOWNLINK NAS TRANSPORT

Uplink NAS Transport UPLINK NAS TRANSPORT

NAS non delivery Indication NAS NON DELIVERY INDICATION

Error Indication ERROR INDICATION

UE Context Release Request UE CONTEXT RELEASE REQUEST

Downlink S1 CDMA 2000 Tunneling DOWNLINK S1 CDMA 2000 TUNNELING

Uplink S1 CDMA2000 Tunneling UPLINK S1 CDMA2000 TUNNELING

UE Capability Info Indication UE CAPABILITY INFO INDICATION

eNB Status Transfer ENB STATUS TRANSFER

MME Status Transfer MME STATUS TRANSFER

Deactivate Trace DEACTIVATE TRACE

Trace Start TRACE START

S1AP Elementary Procedures, Class 2

Elementary procedure, class 2 Initiating Message

Trace Failure Indication TRACE FAILURE INDICATION

Location Reporting Control LOCATION REPORTING CONTROL

Location Reporting Failure Indication LOCATION REPORTING FAILURE INDICATION

Location Report LOCATION REPORT

Overload Start OVERLOAD START

Overload Stop OVERLOAD STOP

eNB Direct Information Transfer ENB DIRECT INFORMATION TRANSFER

MME Direct Information Transfer MME DIRECT INFORMATION TRANSFER

eNB Configuration Transfer ENB CONFIGURATION TRANSFER

MME Configuration Transfer MME CONFIGURATION TRANSFER

Cell Traffic Trace CELL TRAFFIC TRACE

X2 Interface and
X2 Application Protocol
X2 Interface
› Inter-connection of eNodeBs supplied by different manufacturers;
› Support of continuation between eNodeBs of the E-UTRAN services offered
via the S1 interface;
› Separation of X2 interface Radio Network functionality and Transport Network
functionality to facilitate introduction of future technology

The main purpose for X2 is to support the active mode UE mobility (Packet
Forwarding).
X2 Protocol Model
Functions of X2AP

› Setting up the X2
› Resetting the X2
› Mobility Management
› Load Management
› Reporting of General Error Situations
› eNodeB Configuration Update
X2AP Elementary Procedures, class 1

Elementary Initiating Message Successful Outcome Unsuccessful outcome

Procedure, class 1 Response Message Response Message

HANDOVER PREPARATION HANDOVER REQUEST HANDOVER REQUEST HANDOVER PREPARATION

 ACKNOWLEDGE FAILURE

RESET RESET REQUEST RESET RESPONSE

X2 SETUP X2 SETUP REQUEST X2 SETUP RESPONSE X2 SETUP FAILURE

ENB CONFIGURATION UPDATE ENB CONFIGURATION ENB CONFIGURATION ENB CONFIGURATION

UPDATE UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE UPDATE FAILURE

RESOURCE STATUS REPORTING RESOURCE STATUS RESOURCE STATUS RESOURCE STATUS

INITIATION REQUEST RESPONSE FAILURE
X2AP Elementary Procedures, Class 2

Elementary procedure, class 2 Initiating Message

LOAD INDICATION LOAD INFORMATION

HANDOVER CANCEL HANDOVER CANCEL

SN STATUS TRANSFER SN STATUS TRANSFER

UE CONTEXT RELEASE UE CONTEXT RELEASE

RESOURCE STATUS REPORTING RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE

ERROR INDICATION ERROR INDICATION

>Ue initial attach
procedure
UE Attach
MME
1. SYSTEM INFORMATION
RRC IDLE Cell
Select *
2. RANDOM ACCESS PREAMBLE
3. RANDOM ACCESS RESPONSE
4. RRC CONNECTION REQUEST

5. RRC CONNECTION SETUP

RRC 6. RRC CONNECTION SETUP COMPLETE (Attach Request)

7. INITIAL UE MESSAGE (Attach Request)
CONNECTED
8.RRC DL INFORMATION TRANSFER (UE Identity Request) DL NAS TRANSPORT (UE Identity Req)
9. RRC UL INFORMATION TRANSFER (UE Identity Response) UL NAS TRANSPORT (UEid Response)

10.RRC DL INFORMATION TRANSFER (Authentication Request) DL NAS TRANSPORT (Authentication)

11. RRC UL INFORMATION TRANSFER (Authentication Response) UL NAS TRANSPORT (Auth. Response)

12. RRC DL INFORMATION TRANSFER (Security Mode Command) DL NAS TRANSPORT (NAS SMC)
13. RRC UL INFORMATION TRANSFER (Security Mode Complete) UL NAS TRANSPORT (NAS SMC)

15. RRC SECURITY MODE COMMAND 14. INITIAL CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST
(EPS bearers, Attach Accept, Security)
16.RRC SECURITY MODE COMPLETE
17. RRC UE CAPABILITY ENQUIRY
18. RRC UE CAPABILITY iNFORMATION
19. UE CAPABILITY INFO INDICATION
20. RRC CONNECTION RECONFIGURATION (Attach Accept, Bearer Setup)
(UE Radio Capability)
21. RRC CONNECTION RECONFIGURATION COMPLETE
22. INITIAL CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE
(EPS bearers)
23. RRC UL INF ORMATION TRANSFER (Attach Complete)) UL NAS TRANSPORT (Attach Complete)

RRC IDLE 24. UE CONTEXT RELEASE COMMAND

26. RRC CONNECTION RELEASE 25. UE CONTEXT RELEASE COMPLETE
Intra lte handover
X2 Handover
DL Data Forwarding
end marker 
S-GW

PDCP SN is continuous
through Handover 

 X2APNext SN = 7 

Transmitter State 6 5 4

6
Source eNB Target eNB
5

4
Status:
Receiver State
ACK 4 & 5

4
• Source forwards outstanding un-ACK:ed SDUs to target with their SN attached.
• Source tells Target what PDCP SN to allocate next.
• Non-outstanding SDUs are forwarded (in order) without SN
• Target “prioritizes” forwarded SDUs.
• UE re-orders PDCP SDUs based on the SN.
• UE may submit a PDCP Status to guide Target re-Tx
• NO Data forwarding for SRBs; PDCP SN and HFN are reset @ target
 S1 Handover

RRC
CONNECTED

RRC
CONNECTED
Irat mobility
Interworking with 2G/3G
PMM_CONNECTED ECM - CONNECTED
Handover 
GSM_Connected
CELL_DCH E-UTRA Handover 
RRC_CONNECTED
GPRS Packet
transfer mode
CELL_FACH
Release
with Redirect CCO with
CCO,
CELL_PCH  NACC
Reselection
URA_PCH
Connection Connection
Connection establishment/release establishment/release
establishment/release Reselection
Reselection
Reselection E-UTRA GSM_Idle/
UTRA_Idle
RRC Idle GPRS Idle
Reselection + CCO, Reselection +
PMM_IDLE ECM -IDLE PDP context est*
PDP context est*

Cell change Cell change

without signaling without signaling
PMM_DETACHED EMM-DEREGISTERED Idle

* PDP Context establishment is needed if no PDP context exists

LTE to 3G Handover
PDN-GW

target source
S-GW S-GW

SGSN MME

RNC
Cs fallback
Why CS Fallback?

› The alternative if investment in IMS should be avoided

› Based on reuse of legacy CS access

› CS Fallback may be used as a generic telephony fallback

method.
– E.g. secure functionality for incoming roamers.
– Terminals are expected to support it even if IMS/MMtel is
supported
CS Fallback - Concept
› Subscribers roaming with preference on LTE access, no CS-voice service available (i.e. IMS is not used as
voice engine)

› Fallback triggered to overlapping CS domain (2G/3G) whenever voice service is requested

› Resumed LTE access for PS services after call completion

(cell reselection)

LTE island

PS PS

LTE
LTE
LTE
CS (+PS)
LTE
GERAN/UTRAN
CS Fallback
MSS as voice engine for LTE subscribers

2. CS domain updated of 

subscribers whereabouts through
CS signaling over MME-MSC (LUP,
SMS etc.)

1. Subscriber registered
in MSC but roam in LTE
CS signaling
Packet Core

LTE RAN

MME SAE Gw
4. Page over 
CSFB SGSN GGSN
SGs-interface
Terminal
MSS
GSM / WCDMA RAN

RC

5. RAN triggers CSFB M-MGw MSC-S

an release with Terminal IM-MGw MGCF

MRFP
redirect
3. Incoming call to
payload
subscriber in LTE
6. Page response
and call setup
over 2G/3G radio
Attach Procedure – CS Fallback
MSC
MME
Server/ HSS
VLR

RRC Connection Set up Procedure

RRC CONNECTION SETUP COMPLETE

(Attach Request)

EPS attach type IE:

001 EPS attach
010 combined EPS/IMSI attach
110 EPS emergency attach
111 reserved

EPS Attach Procedure - initiated

Derive VLR number;

 Allocate default LAI
LOCATION UPDATE REQ

Update Location in CS domain

LOCATION UPDATE ACCEPT

EPS Attach Procedure – completed

Summary
Summary
More Information
› 3GPP Technical Specifications 36-series
– 3GPP TS 36.331 E-UTRA; RRC Protocol specification
– 3GPP TS 36.323 E-UTRA; Packet Data Convergence Protocol
(PDCP) specification
– 3GPP TS 36.322 E-UTRA; Radio Link Control (RLC) protocol
specification
– 3GPP TS 36.321 E-UTRA; Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol
specification
– 3GPP TS 36.300 E-UTRA; Overall description
Quiz